So after months of dealing with problems trying to get the stuff I want to host working on my Raspberry Pi and Synology, I’ve given up and decided I need a real server with an x86_64 processor and a standard Linux distro. So I don’t continue to run into problems after spending a bunch more, I want to seriously consider what I need hardware-wise. What considerations do I need to think about in this?
Initially, the main things I want to host are Nextcloud, Immich (or similar), and my own Node bot @[email protected] (which uses Puppeteer to take screenshots—the big issue that prevents it from running on a Pi or Synology). I’ll definitely want to expand to more things eventually, though I don’t know what. Probably all/most in Docker.
For now I’m likely to keep using Synology’s reverse proxy and built-in Let’s Encrypt certificate support, unless there are good reasons to avoid that. And as much as it’s possible, I’ll want the actual files (used by Nextcloud, Immich, etc.) to be stored on the Synology to take advantage of its large capacity and RAID 5 redundancy.
Is a second-hand Intel-based mini PC likely suitable? I read one thing saying that they can have serious thermal throttling issues because they don’t have great airflow. Is that a problem that matters for a home server, or is it more of an issue with desktops where people try to run games? Is there a particular reason to look at Intel vs AMD? Any particular things I should consider when looking at RAM, CPU power, or internal storage, etc. which might not be immediately obvious?
Bonus question: what’s a good distro to use? My experience so far has mostly been with desktop distros, primarily Kubuntu/Ubuntu, or with niche distros like Raspbian. But all Debian-based. Any reason to consider something else?
Wow thanks, a lot of great advice in here!
I actually do have an old m2 drive sitting around somewhere, if I can find it. I think it was an m2 SATA (not NVMe) drive though, so not sure if there’s any advantage over a 2.5" other than the physical size.
What exactly is proxmox? A distro optimised for use in home servers? What does it do for you exactly that’s better than more standard Debian/Ubuntu?
Debian with a custom kernel, web interface, accompanying CLI tools in support of virtualization.
For one, I won’t touch Ubuntu for a server. Hard recommend against in all scenarios. Snap is a nightmare, both in use and security, and I have zero trust or faith in canonical at this point (as mentioned, I’m opinionated).
Debian itself is all I’ll use for a server, if I’m doing virt though I’d rather use proxmox to make management easier.
What’s the use case for that? My plan has been to run a single server with a handful of Docker containers. No need for more complex stuff like load balancing or distributed compute.
I prefer lxc to docker in general, but that’s just a preference.
If you end up relying on it, you can expand your servers by adding another to the cluster, and easily support the more complex stuff without major changes.
The web interface is also extremely handy as is the CLI, and backups are easy. High utility for minimal effort.
Its also a lot easier to add a VM later if youre set up for it from the start IMO.